The tradition of spring cleaning comes from an old Persian custom. The Persian new year fell in what we consider spring. They would start their new year off by “shaking the house” to get rid of the old and make room for the new. As you comb through your house, use these 7 tips to make your cleaning even easier.

1. Deep Clean Carpets: Our floors take a beating. From the constant foot traffic of shoes and bare feet, to pet dander, spills, insects, and more, our floors see a lot of action over the course of a year. To really call a room ‘clean,’ you need to deep clean the carpets of the dust mites, crumbs, and ground in dirt.
2. Sanitize Toys: Gather up all of the non-fabric toys that will fit in the dishwasher or the sink and make a combination of hot water and bleach/vinegar to sanitize your child’s toys. For those that can’t fit in the sink, take a bucket and a washcloth and wipe it down with hot water and bleach/vinegar. This will kill germs on site, giving your kids a clean playroom and giving you peace of mind.
3. Do One Room At A Time: Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to clean everything all at once. Have a rough schedule of what you want to accomplish for each room. Go room by room to start tackling the big cleaning task in each.
4. Start High, End Low: As you go through the rooms, start with cleaning off with the things that are on the top shelves. Remove the things up high to sort and dust. As you finish each shelf, you can move further and further down closer to the floor. This will help prevent you from doing double the work. As you move things from up high, dirt and dust will fall down on the lower levels. This way you only clean each level once, saving you time and energy.
5. Set A Timer: It’s easy to get sucked into cleaning and forget what time it is. Set a timer to remind yourself to take a break. Sit down, eat, relax for a little while, and then get back to it. Timers can also be useful for when you get sidetracked. Odds are that you’ll find that old album that you’ve been looking for while you’re cleaning. Set a timer so that you can reminisce with your findings, but also so you have a set time to put it aside and get back to work.
6. Have A Donate Bag: As you’re going through room to room, have a bag designated for donations at all times. Throw trash away, recycle the things that you can, and donate everything else.
7. Recruit The Family: You don’t have to do all of the cleaning by yourself. Encourage the rest of the family to take charge of the home by giving them cleaning tasks. Let the kids dust the baseboards, and get into hard to reach spots.

Cleaning doesn’t need to be reserved solely for Spring. You can do any of these tips at any point during the year. Encourage the family to take pride in your home and give weekly cleaning tasks to everyone. Everyone is part of the household and they can contribute to keeping it clean, no matter what age.